Matsyapurana 121
English (machine translation) 121
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121.1
Sūta said:
To the north of that hermitage, frequented by the enemy of Tripura [Śiva],
with peaks made of various jewels and furnished with wish-granting trees,
121.2
in the middle of the back of the Himavat, stands the mountain named Kailāsa.
Upon it dwells the glorious Kubera together with the Guhyakas.
121.3
Protected by Apsarases, the king, the lord of Alakā, rejoices.
Arising at the foot of Kailāsa is an auspicious, holy [pool of] cool water,
121.4
a lake named Mandodaka, whose water resembles curds.
From it flows the celestial, auspicious Mandākinī river.
121.5
There on its bank is the celestial Nandana, a vast forest.
To the northeast of Kailāsa is the divine Saugandhika mountain;
121.6
towards the divine Suvela mountain, rich in all minerals,
is the mountain named Candraprabha, which is white and resembles a jewel.
121.7
Near it is the celestial lake known as Acchoda.
From it springs the celestial, auspicious Acchodakā river.
121.8
On its bank is a vast, celestial, auspicious forest, the Caitraratha.
Upon that mountain dwells Maṇibhadra with his followers;
121.9
he is the fierce commander of the Yakṣa army, surrounded by Guhyakas.
The holy Mandākinī river and the auspicious Acchodakā,
121.10
entering the middle of the terrestrial orb, [flow] into the great ocean.
To the south-east of Kailāsa is the auspicious mountain of all medicinal herbs;
121.11
towards the divine mountain Suvela, rich in realgar,
is the great mountain Lohita, sun-bright, with golden peaks.
121.12
At its base is a great, celestial, vast lake, Lohita.
From it springs the great, sacred river Lauhitya.
121.13
On its bank is the celestial forest, the vast Viśoka wood.
Upon that mountain dwells the self-controlled Yakṣa Maṇidhara,
121.14
surrounded by gentle and very righteous Guhyakas.
To the north-west of Kailāsa is Kakudmant, the mountain of medicinal herbs.
121.15
And on Kakudmant was the birth of the humped bull of Rudra.
Near the tri-peaked mountain Tri-kakud, [rich in] that collyrium of Trikakud,
121.16
is the very vast Vaidyuta mountain, rich in all minerals.
At its foot is the great, celestial Mānasa [lake], frequented by Siddhas.
121.17
From it originates the sacred Sarayū, purifier of the worlds,
on whose bank is the celestial forest known as Vaibhrāja.
121.18
There dwells a follower of Kubera, Praheti's self-controlled son,
the Rākṣasa Brahmadhatṛ of boundless valor.
121.19
In the western direction from Kailāsa is the divine mountain of all medicinal herbs,
Varuṇa, the best of mountains, adorned with ores of gold;
121.20
it is the splendid mountain dear to Bhava, resembling gold,
covered with celestial networks of rocks of golden hue,
121.21
as if scraping heaven with hundreds of fiery golden peaks—
Śṛṅgavant, the vast celestial, inaccessible, massively accumulated mountain.
121.22
Upon that mountain dwells the mountain-lord, the smoke-red [Śiva].
From its base originates that lake named Śailoda;
121.23
from it springs the sacred and auspicious river Śailodakā.
Flowing between those two [mountains] and the Cakṣu, it enters the western ocean.
121.24
To the north of Kailāsa is the auspicious mountain of all medicinal herbs;
towards the best mountain Gaura, rich in yellow orpiment,
121.25
is Hiraṇyaśṛṅga, a very vast mountain filled with celestial herbs.
At its foot is a great, celestial lake with golden sands,
121.26
the charming lake named Bindusaras, where King Bhagīratha,
that royal sage, lived for many years for the sake of the Gaṅgā, [thinking:]
121.27
"May my ancestors go to heaven, their bones bathed in Gaṅgā water!"
There the goddess Three-Path-Farer [Gaṅgā] first became established.
121.28
Originating from the foot of Soma, she is divided sevenfold.
There are jeweled sacrificial posts and golden aerial chariots;
121.29
having sacrificed there with rituals, Śakra achieved perfection with the hosts of gods.
There is the celestial path of shadow, the circle of constellations;
121.30
at night the goddess Three-Path-Farer is seen radiant.
Having purified the intermediate space and heaven, she reached the earth.
121.31
Falling upon the head of Bhava, she was restrained by his mystic power.
Whatever drops of hers fell upon the ground when she was angry,
121.32
by those a vast lake was made; hence it is remembered as Bindusaras.
Then, as she was suddenly held back in wrath by Bhava,
121.33
having perceived the cruel intention of what the goddess meant to do:
"Breaking through, I will enter the netherworld, sweeping Śaṃkara along with my current!"—
121.34
then Śaṃkara, enraged, knowing that arrogance of hers,
formed the resolve to make that river vanish within his limbs.
121.35
At that very time, however, seeing the king before him,
emaciated with veins showing all over, his senses afflicted by hunger,
121.36
[thinking:] "I was already pleased by him before for the sake of the river,"
and mindful of his grant of a boon, he restrained his wrath.
121.37
Hearing the word of Brahmā as spoken while he held the river,
he then released her who had been held back by his own splendor;
121.38
pleased by fierce asceticism, he [released] the river for the sake of Bhagīratha.
Then he released seven streams through the Gaṅgā:
121.39
three facing the east and likewise three facing the west;
the streams of the Three-Path-Farer proceeded in seven ways.
121.40
The Nalinī, Hlādinī, and Pāvanī go to the east;
the Sītā, Cakṣu, and Sindhu—these three indeed go to the west;
121.41
and the seventh of them followed south behind Bhagīratha.
Therefore she, the Bhāgīrathī, entered the southern ocean.
121.42
These seven flood the region named the Himavat.
The seven auspicious rivers, arisen from Lake Bindusaras,
121.43
flooded those lands, mostly inhabited by foreigners on all sides:
along with mountains, the Kukuras, Raudhras, Barbaras, Yavanas, Khasas,
121.44
Pulikas, Kulatthas, and the foremost Aṅgalokas;
splitting the Himavat in two, she entered the southern ocean.
121.45
Then [flooding] the Vīramarus, the Kālikas, Śūlikas,
Tukāras, Barbara-like peoples, Pahlavas, Pāradas, and Śakas—
121.46
having flooded these realms, the Cakṣu went to the ocean.
[Flooding] the Daradas, Urjaguḍas, Gāndhāras, Aurasas, Kuhus,
121.47
Śivapauras, Indramarus, Vasatis, Samatejasas,
Saindhavas, Urvasas, Barbas, Kupathas, and Bhīmaromakas—
121.48
And the Śunāmukhas and Urdamarus; the Sindhu serves these, / [as well as] Gandharvas, Kinnaras, Yakṣas, Rakṣasas, Vidyādharas, and Uragas,
121.49
and the people of Kalāpagrāma, as well as the Kimpuruṣas, / and the Kirātas, Pulindas, Kurus, and the Bhāratas,
121.50
the Pāñcālas, Kauśikas, Matsyas, Māgadhas, and Aṅgas, / Brahmottaras, Vaṅgas, and Tāmraliptas.
121.51
These noble regions the auspicious Gaṅgā nourishes; / then, deflected at the Vindhya, she enters the southern ocean.
121.52
Then the holy Hlādinī went facing eastward, / inundating the Upakas and Niṣādas on all sides,
121.53
Dhīvaras, Ṛṣikas, and Nalimukhas, / Kekaras, Ekakarṇas, and Kirātas,
121.54
Kālañjaras, Vikarṇas, Kuśikas, and Svargabhaumakas; / she, having coursed along the rim of the ocean on every shore,
121.55
Then the Nalinī also went towards the eastern quarter, / flooding the Kupathas and the Indradyumna lakes,
121.56
as well as the Kharapatha lands and the Vetraśaṅkupathas; / passing through the Ujjānaka deserts, she went to the Kuthaprāvaraṇas.
121.57
Near Indradvīpa she entered the salt ocean. / Then the Pāvanī advanced towards the eastern region with speed,
121.58
flooding the Tomaras, Haṃsamārgas, and Samūhakas; / serving the eastern lands, cleaving the mountain in many ways, / having reached the Karṇaprāvaraṇas, she went to the Aśvamukhas.
121.59
Having watered Mount Meru and reached the Vidyādharas, / she entered the great lake, the Śaimimaṇḍalakoṣṭha.
121.60
Other rivers and tributaries of theirs, by hundreds and thousands, / flow into these rivers wherever Indra sends rain.
121.61
On the bank of the Vaṃśaukasārā is the forest named Surabhi; / there lives the wise, self-controlled Hiraṇyaśṛṅga, attendant of Kubera,
121.62
free from sacrificial rites, very mighty, of immeasurable vigor, of great prowess; / there, surrounded by Agastyas and learned Brahmarākṣasas,
121.63
these four attendants of Kubera have resorted to him. / In this very way should the spiritual attainment of the mountain-dwellers be understood,
121.64
mutually doubled in virtue, pleasure, and wealth. / On the ridge of Hemakūṭa is remembered the lake of the serpents;
121.65
the Sarasvatī rises from it, which is the Jyotiṣmatī. / Plunging on both sides are the eastern and western oceans.
121.66
The lake named Viṣṇupada is on Niṣadha, best of mountains, / from whose front rises [a river], favorable to the Gandharvas.
121.67
From the flank of Meru arises the great lake Candraprabha, / and the sacred river Jambū, from which Jambūnada gold is known.
121.68
The blue lake is Payoda, and that bright one is Puṇḍarīkavān; / from Puṇḍarīka and Payoda, let those two [rivers] be born.
121.69
From this lake is remembered the lake Uttaramānasa; / and from it let two [rivers], the Mṛgyā and Mṛgakāntā, be born.
121.70
Lakes famed among the Kurus, crowded with lotus and shoals of fish, / are named Jayā, twelve in number, resembling oceans.
121.71
From them let two rivers, the Śāntī and Madhvī, be born. / In the eight regions beginning with Kimpuruṣa, the rain-god does not send rain;
121.72
here the finest rivers flow with subterranean spring waters. / Balāhaka, Ṛṣabha, Cakra, and Maināka,
121.73
situated in each direction, plunge into the salt ocean. / Candrakānta, Droṇa, and the very great mountain,
121.74
stretched upward in the north, plunge into the great ocean; / Cakra, Badhiraka, and Mount Nārada,
121.75
stretched towards the west, stand founded in the great ocean; / Jīmūta, Drāvaṇa, Maināka, and Mount Candra,
121.76
those great mountains are extended toward the southern ocean. / Between Cakra and Maināka, residing in the sky in the southern course,
121.77
there is the fire named Saṃvartaka which drinks that water; / it is the fire residing in the ocean, Aurva, the mare's mouth.
121.78
Thus these four mountains entered the salt ocean / long ago out of fear of Indra when their wings were being clipped.
121.79
Their surging is seen during the waxing and waning of the moon. / These divisions of the region of Bhārata have been declared;
121.80
those declared here are seen, while others are proclaimed elsewhere. / Successively, the region of these exceeds [the former] in qualities,
121.81
in measures of health and lifespan, in virtue, desire, and wealth. / The beings endowed in those regions portion by portion,
121.82
of various kinds, dwell across all of them. / Thus holding all this, the earth remains as this world.
Translations (1)
- The Matsya Puranam — A Taluqdar of Oudh 1916, English
Linked texts (1)
- Matsyapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit